Breaking Up The Girl
by astral-angel
Summary: [Merlin, they could send her to Azkaban for this.] Suddenly finding herself with the knowledge to change the future, Hermione must find a way to retain her grip on sanity while trying to save the people she has come to love.
1. Anachronism

**Title:** Breaking Up The Girl  
**Character/Pairings:** Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter, Oliver Wood  
**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J. K. Rowling & Bloomsbury, et al. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
**Rating:** R  
**Word Count:** 2,583 words  
**Spoilers:** PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP, HBP & DH.  
**Summary:** Given the chance to turn back time, would you take it? Midway through her third year at Hogwarts, Hermione Granger finds herself with the knowledge to change everything. With the help of surprising new allies, can the smartest witch of her age find a new way to thwart destiny?  
**Notes:** Will eventually introduce new characters as chapters progress. Will contain spoilers for all the books, but will continue in an alternate universe.

**Chapter One: Anachronism**

_"You'll forgive me for saying so, my dear, but I perceive very little aura around you. Very little receptivity to the resonances of the future." – __**Professor Sybil Trelawney to Hermione Granger, Chapter Six, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban**_

Breathe.

Turn.

_Once, twice, three times._

Close your eyes.

_Breathe. _

Look around. _Mustn't be seen, can't be seen. _The dim lighting in the rarely used hallway relaxed her, a little. The fact that she could feel eyes on the back of her neck didn't. _Bugger, Merlin, damn it all to hell._

It was over.

_Miss Granger, I can't press upon you enough the importance of this matter. __**No one**__ can know. You must __**not**__ be seen. _

Her hands curled around her wand, the smoothness of the vinewood grounding her. She would not let this all go to waste, not before she'd even _started_.

_You cannot fail, Hermione. You __**know**__ what is at stake here._

"Who are you?"

The voice sounded familiar, the thick brogue bringing back faded memories – _think Hermione, you know him, who?_

"An anachronism."

"A what?"

She knew who it was then and felt relatively safe turning around. Oliver Wood had never paid enough attention to a 14 year old Hermione to recognize her now.

"Something that is out of its natural time."

Her words were cryptic. The puzzled look on Wood's face was almost enough to amuse her. _Careful Granger, he's not as stupid as everyone thinks he is. Don't give him too many hints. _

"Do I know you, then?" She almost smiled, but then she wondered how he'd died, the first time round. Her hand rose to her neck, drawing her robes over the glint of gold.

"No, I don't suppose you do." He tilted his head, and the boy she never really took notice of at fourteen suddenly looked endearing.

"You look familiar. Are you sure we haven't met?" The twinge of unease she felt is fleeting. She looked different from how _she_ looked, and she knows that he will not notice the resemblance. He stared at her, brow furrowed. She sighed in regret, before lifting her wand slowly. She hated this, but no one could know that she was here. No one but _her_. Alarm registered on his face, quick and fleeting, before the soft whisper of her words calmed him.

The memory charm was quickly followed by a well practiced disillusionment spell. He wouldn't notice her unless he was looking for her, and he definitely wouldn't remember anything of the last few minutes. She walked away from him, but couldn't resist turning around for one last look. He looked confused, and vaguely scared. She felt the guilt, but continued walking. She'd had to do it.

Three hours later, she was about to scream in frustration. She'd forgotten how busy she'd been back in third year, and now she couldn't seem to track herself down. _Brilliant, Hermione. _She wondered what the date is back now, and tried to calculate. If they had timed it right, she should have a few more weeks.

A few more weeks until the beginning of the end.

_I do not think I need to tell you what is at stake here. If you should fail, __Miss Granger, it will have all been for __**nothing**_

She would _not_ fail. She was smart, she was reasonable and most of all, she was logical. If she ever found _then_Hermione, the fourteen year old would do what she had to. There were simply no other options.

A quiet sniffle broke her out of her musings. She walked through the deserted stacks in the library, following the sound before looking down at the bushy haired girl sitting with tears dripping down her face with a wistful smile on her face. She hadn't cried in years. Hadn't been able to, not even at _their _funeral.

She stayed silent, unsure how to proceed. Finally, she simply removed the disillusionment charm and waited to be noticed.

"Who are you?" The younger girl looked up at her, eyes wide. Her face was red and blotchy, her nose was running and her hair was as wild as ever. She watched as recognition filtered over her younger selves' face, and sat down at the table, swiftly forming a quick charm around the two of them, before speaking, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm you."

----------- // ------------

Two hours later, fourteen year old Hermione Granger stared blankly at the empty seat in front of her. Her hands were trembling as she reached for the gold necklace that hung there lightly. She clutched at it, eyes wide and dark with shock. Her arithmancy text book sat in front of her open, ignored, while the ink from her quill soaked into her almost finished essay.

There was a brush against her mind, a feather light touch that unnerved her. She bit her lip, tugging at the soft flesh even as she felt the tugging in her mind, the pull of memories being shifted, of ideas, thoughts, and her _magic_, being twisted and turned and _melded_ until she knew. Until she remembered what she (that is, her fourteen year old self) hadn't experienced, hadn't learnt, hadn't known.

Her mind sifted, thoughts floating through a sieve until they resemble normal (what's normal, anyway?). She remembered being eighteen years old, remembered the shredding of nerves that accompanied the Cruciatus curse, remembered blood on her hands, thick and dark, red, _Harry's_ blood.

_Merlin._ She half moaned the word, unsure if she meant it as a prayer or an expletive.

They could send her to _Azkaban_ for this.

Her hands tightened into fists around the hourglass, hiding it from view even as she brought it closer for inspection. She counted the little circles on the frame, watched the glass shine even in the dim light of the library while hours worth of research flooded into her brain, forcing a gasp from her lips.

The memories flooded faster, leaking through the sieve until they'd torn a gaping hole through her brain. Blood rushed through her veins, her pulse thrumming in her ears even as she gasped for air. She could feel her eyes burning, a low flash of dull heat that somehow stoked itself into an insistent roar, scorching her skin.

_That_ was the future?

A pervading sense of iciness chased the heat away, chilling her skin until she shivered violently under the strain. She half expected a Dementor to be hovering by (she could cast a _corporeal_ Patronus charm!) and the fourteen year old girl that was still inside her somewhere (could four years change a person, change _her_, that much?) wanted to know if she'd still be able to do the same amount of magic now that she could have back then.

Later she'd look back on the day and remember the throbbing headache that came with even thinking about the semantics of her _situation_, but for now, Hermione Granger was quite literally, frozen to her seat.

_What the bloody hell could she do?_

----------- // ------------ _  
_

The next day, she sat in Potions, her mind wandering. Professor Snape stalked through the aisle, the ever present sneer marring his face while Ron and Harry sat on either side of her, glaring into their potions' texts. The time turner lay heavy against her chest, taunting her, even as the Potions Master docked Neville ten points.

Merlin, sometimes she wished that she'd never received her Hogwarts letter. This, of course, usually only lasted long enough for her to realize how _stupid_ that was, because really, learning that she was a witch had been one of the best things to happen to her.

"Are you okay 'Mione?" Harry's hissed question broke her out of her thoughts. She glanced at him, deciding that the novelty of one of the boys actually noticing that something was wrong was enough to not mention that her name was _Hermione_.

"I'm fine Harry." She cast an eye out for Professor Snape, all too aware of what would happen if he caught them talking in his class.

"Are you –" Muffled knocking on the door caught Hermione's attention, students around her looking up with interest. Professor Snape's sneer deepened as he strode to the door, cloak billowing behind him. The door swung open with a creaking shudder that had Neville jumping and the Slytherin's smirking. The tiny blonde that walked in had a dreamy expression on her face as she passed a slip of paper to the ghost.

"That's Loony Lovegood – wonder what she wants?" Ron's hushed whisper cut into the silence and Harry shrugged, turning to look at Hermione.

Hermione ignored her two best friends, instead staring at the Ravenclaw that was now looking around at the class curiously. Her breath hitched as images flitted through her mind, leaving her reeling.

_Hermione spun around, wand twirling through the air. "REDUCTO!" Her voice was hoarse, but the curse did its job, blowing apart the shoulder of the Death Eater holding Luna. The blonde winced as blood splattered over her face before joining the fray again. _

"_Hermione, look out!" yelled Luna. Hermione dropped to the ground, watching the bolt of green fly over her. Her wand was pointed at Dolohov instantaneously. He'd almost killed her in the Department of Mysteries, had felt no remorse in attacking a sixteen year old girl. He'd killed little Natalie, laughed while the young Gryffindor had screamed. _

"_Sectusempra!" Lips curving into a grim smile, Hermione watched Snapes' curse slice into Dolohov, ribbons of blood spurting as she nicked an artery. Luna pulled her up so that they stood back to back, wands at the ready. Bellatrix Lestrange appeared in front of her, a maniacal smile on her face._

"_Avada Ke --"_

"Hermione!" Flinching from Harry's touch, Hermione gasped, blood draining from her face. The entire class was staring at her, confused. "Hermione, are you sure you're alright? Why does Dumbledore want to see you?" She avoided Harry's questioning stare, caught up in silvery eyes.

"Get out, Miss Granger, and twenty points from Gryffindor for your blatant _inability_ to pay attention." Hermione scowled, shoving her books into her satchel and getting up. The stool scraped against the ground as she rushed out of the room, two glaring facts hammering into her thoughts.

Snape was a Death Eater. Snape had _killed_ Dumbledore.

"She was wrong, you know." Luna's breathy voice cut into her thoughts, stopping her in her tracks.

"Who was wrong?" Hermione avoided Luna's gaze, instead concentrating on the finger twisting through blonde locks.

"The Sinaspa's were blocking your aura before." Luna blinked. "That's why Professor Trelawney thought you had no sight." Hermione looked at her askance until she remembered the Divination lesson. "They've gone now, so your aura's starting to leak through." The blonde tilted her head. "You know what's to come, don't you?"

Hermione stiffened, muscles tensing before she remembered that the _other_ Luna had had the Sight. They continued walking, Hermione so lost in her thoughts that she failed to notice Luna disappearing into a classroom. Arriving at the stone gargoyle, the brunette realized that nobody had thought to give her the password. She sighed, staring at the stone creature.

"_It's my fault, Hermione. If it hadn't been for the DA, he'd still be here!" _

"_Harry, if anything, this is __**my**__ fault. The DA was my idea, I'm the one who wrote the parchment, and I'm the one who left it in the room." Hermione looked at her best friend, a pleading expression on her face. "But, Harry, even if this hadn't happened, she'd have found a way to do it anyway. That's been their plan since the beginning." _

"Aah, Miss Granger, there you are." The Headmaster walked up beside her, uttering a cheery "Cockroach Clusters!" She followed him up the stone steps, looking around curiously. This was the first time she'd been in his office, after all.

"_I destroyed his office Hermione." Shocked, Hermione glanced up at Harry. _

"_What? Why?" Even as she asked the questions, she had a feeling she knew why. _

"_It was after the Department of Mysteries." Here he paused, and her heart ached at the fact that he couldn't say his godfather's name. Merlin, even after summer had passed, it still hurt to think of Sirius. "Not even a day after, and he sits me down and tells me about the prophecy." _

"_Prophecy? But it was destroyed!" _

"_Yeah, it was. Only Dumbledore had heard it before." Harry shuddered, his eyes darkening. "Do you know what it said, 'Mione?" The dreaded nickname and she hadn't the heart to reprimand him, not while he was shattering in front of her. "Kill or be killed. That's what it said, that's what he's been keeping from me these last five years. If I don't kill him, he's going to kill me." A gasp left her lips, her heart breaking for the boy in front of her. "What am I supposed to do, Hermione?" _

"_I don't know Harry." She looked at him then, eyes steely with determination. "But I'm going to be right there with you."_

"Miss Granger?" She started, realizing that the headmaster had already sat down and was motioning for her to take a seat. "Would you care for a lemon drop?" The incongruity of the statement and the thoughts running through her head almost made her laugh.

"_The Headmaster wants me to learn Occlumency, with Snape, of all people." Harry snarled, gritting his teeth._

"_Professor Snape, Harry." Ron rolled his eyes at the predictable response. "Merlin, so that's how he always knows everything!" At the confused looks from both boys, Hermione continued. "Professor Dumbledore's a Legilimens!"_

Oh, but this was becoming _annoying_. How was she supposed to do anything when the bloody memories _insisted_ on playing in technicolor? "No thank you, Professor." She avoided his twinkling eyes.

"As you wish." He leaned back into his chair, running his hand through his beard. "And now we come to the reason why I called you here."

"Sir?" Looking at the bridge of his nose questioningly, Hermione stopped herself from clutching at the time turner.

"It's a heavy burden to bear, Miss Granger." He looked at her, the twinkle in his eyes dimming a little. "However, for one so young, I must say, that of all people, I think you will handle it particularly well."

"I don't think I understand." Peering at her from behind half moon glasses, the headmaster smiled suddenly, as if he'd found the answers he was looking for.

"Ah, but that will come later." She blinked, unsure as to where this was going. "Now, if I'm not mistaken, your fellow Gryffindor's are awaiting your presence in Defence Against the Dark Arts." Apparently, it was going nowhere. She walked in the direction of the classroom, utterly confused.

He'd pulled her out of Potions for _that_?

----------- // ------------

The common room was far, far too noisy.

Hermione pressed her fingers to her temples in a half hearted attempt to ward against the oncoming headache. The time turner lay cold against her skin, it's presence shadowing her thoughts.

How was she supposed to concentrate on Ancient Runes when she had all this to deal with?

"Hermione, keep your bloody cat out of the dorms! How is Scabbers supposed to get any rest when he has to keep an eye out for that beast?" Ron's bellow silenced the room, half of whom glanced interestedly at Hermione, hoping to witness one of the infamous blow outs. Hermione had other things on her mind.

_Scabbers. _

_**Sirius.**_


	2. Close To Something

**Chapter 2: Close To Something  
**

"_I trusted you! I kept your secret, all year, I've been covering for you!" Hermione shrieked, feeling Harry's arms pulling her back. "He's a werewolf Harry, and he's let Black into the castle to try and kill you!"_

"_Only one out of three, Miss Granger – not quite up to your normal standard," said Lupin, looking at her curiously. "I am a werewolf, but I didn't let Sirius into the castle, and I'm certainly not trying to kill Harry. When did you figure it out, by the way?"_

"_After Professor Snape set the essay. And then your boggart being what it was. It wasn't that hard to work out." _

"_They were right when they told me that you were the brightest witch of your age. I must say, he will be happy that somebody figured it out. It is why he set the essay, after all." Lupin smiled, and she bit back a curse. How __**dare**__ he smile at a time like this?_

"_Why would you help me, if you were friends with him?" Harry's voice is broken, and she __**hated**__Lupin then, for doing this to Harry._

"_We were friends, Harry. But I didn't help him – I thought the same as everyone else, you see. I thought he had betrayed James and Lily, betrayed us all."_

"_DON'T you DARE say their names!" It's Hermione's turn to push Harry back, struggling to keep her best friend out of the line of fire. _

"_Enough talking, Remus! I've waited THIRTEEN years for this, I won't wait any longer." Hermione dove in front of Ron as Black surged forward, her wand centred on the mass murderer. "Get out of my way, girl!"_

"_NO!"_

"Hermione!" The brunette bolted upright, panting. Lavender and Parvati were crouched on her bed, staring at her. "Are you okay? You wouldn't stop screaming!"

"Uh," she paused, trying to think. "It was just a nightmare." Her roommates exchanged glances, not entirely convinced, but before they could say anything, the door to their dorm burst open. Ginny Weasley flew inside, quickly followed by Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet.

"What happened?" Parvati scrambled back, making room for the second year redhead, who threw herself onto Hermione. The third year exchanged another glance with her roommate – yeah, Hermione was friends with Ron, but when had she become so close with the youngest Weasley?

"Is everyone okay?" Angelina, the Gryffindor fifth year prefect glanced over the crowded bed. "We heard screaming."

Hermione smiled sheepishly, pushing the dream _(memory?)_ from her mind. "I'm sorry Angelina, I just had a bit of a nightmare." She looked at Ginny reassuringly, "I'm fine Gin, really."

"Are you sure?" Alicia peered down at her, dark eyes concerned. "For a moment there, we thought Black had managed to get into the tower somehow."

"Why would –" Hermione broke off, not wanting to dwell on Sirius just yet. "Never mind."

"Well, you are Potter's best friend, you know." Angelina pointed out, none too subtly. Ginny started, cheeks paling.

"Hush, Gin, it's all right." Hermione scowled at the two fifth years, both of whom had the grace to look slightly abashed. "Besides, he wouldn't have made it up the stairs without them collapsing anyway."

"What's going on?" A sleepy yawn punctuated the question, the girls in the dorm turning to look at Katie as she walked in.

"Granger had a nightmare." Hermione rolled her eyes at Angelina's blunt statement. For the life of her, she would never understand why people insisted on referring to each other via surnames.

"Are you okay Hermione?" It was safe to say that of the three Chasers, Hermione was closest to Katie. The brunette witch nodded, smiling in an attempt to reassure the blonde fourth year. Katie pushed past her team mates to crouch near Hermione's bed, reaching out to place a hand on her forehead. "Merlin Hermione, you're burning up!

"Maybe you should go to see Madame Pompfrey," Ginny suggested, mimicking Katie's gesture.

"Honestly, I'm alright, really!" Ginny moved to protest but to Hermione's surprise, it was her roommate who came to her rescue. Parvati not so subtly pointed out that it really wasn't the first time someone had had a nightmare, and kicking up all this fuss was not necessary.

"Plus, if McGonagall finds you all out of bed at this time of the night, she'll kill us for sure!" Lavender threw her own two cents in, which proved to be all the prompting Angelina and Alicia needed. Katie drew Hermione in for a swift hug before leaving, while Ginny glared at the third years defiantly.

"If you're not going to the infirmary, I'm staying here." Parvati and Lavender exchanged glances, before shrugging.

"It's up to Hermione." The redhead looked at Hermione, daring her to refuse.

"Oh, alright Gin – but can everyone just go to sleep now?" Lavender and Parvati nodded sheepishly, retreating to their own beds. "I swear, a girl can't even have a nightmare in peace these days." Ginny snickered at the muttered comment before snagging a spare pillow from the cupboard.

Silence reigned in the darkened dorm until –

"Gods, Ginny, your feet are freezing!"

(--//--)

The first full moon of the school year was in two days. Hermione paused outside the door to the DADA classroom, watching the students pile in. Her hand found its way to the necklace sitting under her robes while she worried her lip – she was sure that Professor Lupin wouldn't hurt her, her memories told her that quite emphatically. Still, there was no refuting the fact that _she_ hadn't lived them yet and her dream from last night still had her shaken up.

Sighing, the brunette witch walked inside, taking care not to make eye contact with the Professor before taking a seat behind Harry and Ron. Three weeks had past since the start of term and already Hermione and Ron weren't speaking – of course, Harry _would_ take Ron's side in the matter. Hermione sighed again, aware that she wasn't exactly being fair to Harry – it couldn't be easy having your two best friends continuously arguing.

The entire matter of Sirius and Pettigrew was starting to rub her nerves raw – she was so out of her depth and she had a feeling that she wasn't going to like free falling. Crookshanks had taken to disappearing at night, which she assumed meant that Sirius was at Hogwarts. She started as Ron turned in his seat to stare at her sullenly – she scowled back, in no mood for Ron's pettiness today. There were far more important things to worry about.

Lupin called the class to attention and started to speak. Hermione stiffened in her seat – from what her older self had remembered, they'd covered lethifolds well after boggarts, and they still hadn't made the trek to the staff room yet. Merlin, she was going to go _mad_ before all this was over. Her stomach churned, the sudden rise of nausea causing her to inhale sharply, her face paling.

Harry looked back at her, concerned. She smiled at him half heartedly, attempting to convey that she was alright. Of course, she was so far from alright that it really wasn't funny, but there was no need to worry Harry about it. Hermione met his gaze head on, desperately trying to look like she wasn't hiding anything. Harry frowned disbelievingly before turning around to face Lupin again.

"_You're hiding something, Hermione." Harry's voice echoed behind her, stopping her in her tracks._

"_And just what is that supposed to mean, Harry?" _

"_You're hardly ever around anymore – and how the bloody hell are you getting to classes?"_

"_Don't you swear at me Harry Potter!"_

"_Fine, I won't, but you didn't answer the question! Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein were talking to you about today's Arithmancy lesson, but I know that you were in Potions with us!"_

"_I don't know what you're talking about Harry – do you have any idea what you sound like?"_

"_Oh, so now I'm crazy?" Harry gave her a disgusted look. _

"_I'm not saying you're crazy – and anyway, when did you decide to start talking to me again?" Hermione sneered, pushing back the hurt feelings. She didn't have time to be emotional. "I'm the reason your precious broomstick was taken away, remember?"_

"_I'm going to find out what you're hiding, Hermione." _

"_Go ahead and try, Harry." _

"Miss Granger, are you unwell?" Hermione tensed, her breathing erratic. Professor Lupin looked down at her, a concerned expression on her face.

"Uh, I - " Hermione hesitated, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "No, I'm alright Professor, thank you."

She could feel the eyes of the class boring into her back, the sudden attention overwhelming and all too familiar. Her eyes darkened as another memory took to the forefront of her mind.

_Hermione walked into the Great Hall, stopping dead for a second as eyes turned to watch her progress to the Gryffindor table. Lavender and Parvati giggled furiously, motioning her over to sit next to them. _

"_Honestly Hermione, why didn't you tell us about the two of you?" _

_Parvati nodded in agreement, looking far too excited. "So, give us the details, girl," she shot a look around at the table and then bent her head conspiratorially. "I mean, we're your roommates – you're meant to tell us this sort of thing, you know?"_

_Hermione wrinkled her nose, confused. "What in Merlin are you two on about?"_

"_You and Harry, of course!" Ginny slid into the seat next to Hermione, a frown on her face. "Why didn't you tell me, Hermione? I thought we were friends?" _

"_Tell you what, Gin? What about Harry and I?" _

"_Merlin Granger, I didn't think you had it in you." Angelina Johnson chimed in, looking up from her paper. _

"_What?!" Hermione was more than a little frustrated at not knowing what was going on. To make things worse, the girls on the Ravenclaw table were glaring at her – what on earth had she done to Mandy Brocklehurst?_

"_Sneaking around with Potter – though, I suppose it's not really sneaking around anymore," Angelina slid the Daily Prophet towards her, the smiling faces of Hermione and Harry waving up at her. "Rita Skeeter wrote all about it!"_

"_Personally, I think it's very sweet," Lavender gushed. "I mean, we didn't think that you'd be the first of us, and I am quite upset that you didn't tell us beforehand, but good for you Hermione."_

_Hermione sputtered, everything suddenly becoming all too clear. "I am not dating Harry!"_

"Are you sure Hermione? I can give you a pass to the infirmary," Lupin offered, using her first name in concern. At the mention of the infirmary, Hermione shuddered, her mind spinning yet again.

_Hermione and Ron stood to the side of the infirmary as Harry lay on his bed, his bruised body trembling. Hermione's mind spun as she tried to grasp what had occurred. Harry had appeared in the clearing, the cup clasped in one hand, crying over the still body of Cedric._

_She'd thought he'd just been stunned at first. Amos Diggory's heart wrenching cry and then the sudden rush of whispers across the crowd had rid her of that notion quickly. Hermione shuddered, tears falling from her eyes. _

_Cedric hadn't deserved to die, not like that, not when he'd been so young._

"Hermione?!" Harry reached over, shaking her out of her thoughts. Blood rushed to Hermione's face and drained just as rapidly.

"Oh god…" Her whispered statement echoed in the silent class. "I'm sorry Professor, but I think I'm going to be sick."

Hermione bolted from the room, a hand clapped over her mouth as hurried whispers broke out across the room. Running through the corridors, Hermione avoided the startled portraits and ran down the steps, across the grounds and came to a stop at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Nausea churned her stomach again, bile rising in her throat until she leant over, emptying her stomach of breakfast and lunch as she vomited.

A minute later, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, still feeling decidedly nauseous. There was no way she was going to survive this year. A high pitched whine caught her ears and she spun around, her wand at the ready. Hermione was stunned to see a large black dog crouched in the grass, soulful dark eyes looking up at her.

"Snuffles?"


End file.
